When the clock strikes twelve
by LadiesforOQ
Summary: A/U Robin Locksley meets a beautiful woman, twice. Once in a diner, and once at a ball.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N-This is our first story together (Jen and Jordan) and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we have writing it.**

Looking into the tiny mirror in the restaurant's back room, Regina Mills swept her hair up off her neck and into a ponytail holder. "Dumb hair," she muttered toward the mirror.

"What'd you say?" asked her friend and fellow waitress Ruby as she approached from behind. Large earrings dangled nearly to her shoulders, their red and purple beads clashing with her pink uniform.

"Nothing," Regina replied. "Just wishing..." For a better job, a better life, a better future. The noise of the train rumbling past outside the diner blotted out the sound of her sigh. "Just wishing for better hair," she finally said, still peering helplessly into the glass.

Ruby shook her head, obviously annoyed. "You've got some great harir, Regina. You just need to floof it up some."

"Floof it up?" Ruby attended hair design school at night, but her terminology often came out sounding less than techinal.

Ruby raked her fingers through her own voluminous dark hair, that had red streaks in it. "Like this," she explained. "I could do it for you-"

Regina cut her off. "No, you couldn't." Ruby taste was a bit wild, and despite repeated promises, Regina wasn't sure she could trust her friend.

"Hey Regina, you working today ot just playing beauty shop?" their boss Grumpy thundered, cutting through the conversation. "Got a table of big spenders out here and nobody to take their order."

Ruby always claimed that Grumpy's bark was worse than his bite, but Regina jerked to attention, anyway. "Coming Grumpy," she said, rushing through the grease laden kitchen, then grabbing a handful of white laminated menus. She glanced into the dining area and counted four suits in a booth near the door. She hurriedly filled four small water glasses, placed them on a tray, and moved toward her customers.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, briskly placing the glasses on the table, one by one.

"No problem," said the smoothest, deepest voice she'd ever heard. It had a british accent with it.

She looked subtly toward the voice as she distributed the plastic menus. The suit who had spoken had brown hair, cut short in back. To call him handsome would have been a gross understatement. _Overwhelmingly, devastatingly_ handsome was more like it. His alluring smile made Regina's chest tighten with quick desire as his blue eyes pinned her in place. And as for his companions, they could have been aliens-Regina didn't even notice them.

Was this love? Lust? Regina couldn't tell the difference at the moment, and she only prayed that her reaction didn't show on her face. She licked her lips quickly, realizing that they'd gone suddenly dry, and then she attempted to speak. "What would you like?" Her eyes stayed glued to the object of her desire. So much for subtlety.

"The specials, Regina!" Grumpy bellowed through the window behind the counter. "Tell them the specials."

"Oh yeah," she muttered, glancing briefly over her shoulder.

Grumpy's booming voice had shaken Regina from her trance, which was both a relief and a disappointment. Turbing back to the table, she deliberately fixed her gaze on the napkin holder in the center. That would be much safer than mooning at the man with the fabulous eyes. And it was her only hope of getting through this with any dignity.

"We have a chicken and dumpling playe with two side items for four ninety nine, and a pork a barbecue sandwich with cole slaw and baked bean for five ninety nine. Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?"

Regina accidently lifted her gaze to Blue Eyes, having already forgotten the effect it would have on her. Oh, God, he was looking back. Her heart beat wildly, and she knew all attempts at dignity were futile.

"I think I'll try the barbecue," he said, flashing another smile. "And a glass of sweet tea."

 _Damn, he had dimples too!_

Regina swallowed. "Great," she managed to mumble as she scibbed furiously on her order pad. Unbeknownst to him, she was referring more to the way he looked than to his order.

She gripped her ink pen tightly, her palms now sweating, as the other three men placed their order. Oh for Han Solo's sake, her concentration had completely evaporated, she had to repeat two of the orders back to make sure they were correct.

After finally getting them right, Regina made a beeline for Grumpy. "Here," she said, shoving the orders into his waiting fist. Then she rushed breathlessly to Ruby, who sat reading a fashion magazine in the back room. "Help me," she pleaded.

"Help you what?"

"There's, there's..." She could hardly talk. "There's a gorgeous man in our dining room and I, I-"

"Want me to do your hair?" Ruby suggested hopefully.

Regina shook her head frantically, the ponytail swinging behind. 'No. I need a pep talk. Some advice. What to say to him."

Ruby looked introspective. "What are you trying to get out of this?" she asked. "A good tip, a roll in the hay, what?"

Regina's hearbeat slowed when she realized that she had no idea what she really wanted. "Just...to make a good impression," she finally explained.

Ruby rose from the table and skirted quickly past Regina to poke her head around the corner, where she could spy the customers. "Let me guess," she said. "The tall, handsome hottie, next to the window."

Regina nodded.

"Girl, go up to him and ask him for his number," Ruby said. "Even better go sit in his lap and ask for it."

"I can't do that," Regina said.

"Why not? Just tell him you're on the menu, and see what he says," Ruby said.

Regina smiled as she started toward that way. "Regina! Drinks, silverware," Grumpy yelled at her. "The gentlemen at table three need these things. It's the part of the job that comes between taking their orders and serving their food."

Regina cautiously raised her eyes. "Sorry, Grumpy," she said. "I'm having a weird day."

"I noticed," he muttered, withdrawing to the kitchen.

Regina moved swiftly behind the counter, her back to the four men as she assembled their drinks. At first she wondered if her blue eyed hunk might be watching her, studying her, and her heartbeat quickened with nervous anticipation. But then reality set in. Why would a gorgeous guy like that look twice at a waitress like her? She was used to being ogled by the construction guys who came in for lunch, and she knew that Archie, who delivered their dairy products, had a crush on her. But Blue Eyes was in a different league altogether. Wait-what was she thinking? He was in a different galaxy.

Regina had forced herself into a state of calm by the time she moved back toward the table bearing drinks and silverware rolled in white napkins. This was just another table, after all. Another set of customers.

She lowered two cups of coffee in front of them men across from Blue Eyes. Then she placed a soda before the man to Blue Eyes's right. She tried to not look at him. She really did. But there he was, beaming up at her like she was the most important thing in the room, and she felt herself begin to tremble. Taking a deep breath and trying to short up her nerves, she pulled her gaze away from him and back to the glass of sweet tea. She bit her lip as she carefully picked it up off the tray and leaned toward him over the table. Just as she began to wonder if he was able to see down the top of her dress, the moisture on the outside of the plastic glass made Regina lose her grip.

The glass seemed to drop from her hand in slow motion, giving her time to think w _hy me?,_ pray a helpless prayer, and lunge madly for the glass with her other hand, letting the tray clutter to the floor behind her. Despite all this, the glass clanked unevenly on the table, falling on its side and spewing its contents all over the gorgeous man.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "Oh my...oh...no."

Blue eyes companion moved quickly from the booth to let his wet friend stant. Regina clenched her teeth in horror at what she'd done, at the sight of the handsome well dressed man drenched in sweet tea. This couldn't be happening to her! It just couldn't! "I'm so...I'm so...sorry!"

Blue eyes used his hands to brush the excess wetness from his shirt and jacket lapels as Regina watched in horror. Finally it occurred to her to run to the counter and grab a dry rag. She returned, still mortified, and began to blot at the man's shirt and tie, trying to somehow fix what she'd done, although, like saving her dignity, this effort was just as useless. When she heard his low gasp, she realized what she was doing then. She was bascially blotting at his groin area, she looked up to see twinkling eyes looking down at her.

"I can't believe I did that to you," she finally managed to say, still blotting at him, and at the same time taking in the scent of the cologne that seemed to emanate from his body. "Your shirt," she went on, "and your suit." His clothes looked expensive-GQ all the way. "How can I...what can I...I'm so sorry."

Only then did she notice that he was smiling down at her, his eyes nearly glittering beneath the fluorescent lighting. "No harm done," he said. "It can all be dry cleaned."

What a sweet, sweet man! Beyond sweet! He could be a prince! But Regina still couldn't believe what she'd done to him. Her gaze landed on his tie, obviously silk and obviously costly, now stained and soggy. Without thinking, she reached out and touched it. She bit her lip and peered up at him. "Even the tie?"

His eyes filled with sympathy, which wasn't exactly what she wished from him, but it was better than anger or the host of other emotions that he could be displaying. His deep voice came out softer than before. 'Well, the tie's probably shot," he admitted, "but it's no big deal.

Regina sighed heavily. Only then did she realize that she was practically petting the soggy silk tie, and the chest beneath it, as well. She dropped the tie abruptly and took a step back from him.

He still smiled down at her, _damn those dimples!_ "The tie's not a big thing," he reassured her.

Regina smiled and went to the window and got their orders, taking great care with placing them on the table. "Will there be anything else right now?"

Blue eyes lifted his gaze and spoke softly. "Could I um, get another glass of sweet tea?"


	2. Chapter 2

Regina leaned absently against the counter and reached into her pocket of her apron to pull out the one hundred dollar bill and looked at it again. She smoothed it between her fingers, still unable to believe it. One hundred dollars! The other men in the party had left the customary fifteen percent in singles and change scattered about the table, but the one hundred dollar bill had been tucked deliberately beneath the tall plastic tea glass.

Of couse, a big tip was hardly an expression of love. And the tip certainly wasn't indicative of fine service. It obviously meant that he'd felt sorry for her. Still, it was an incredibly nice gesture to make toward someone who had spilled a drink on him and ruined an expensive tie. Gosh, what a wonderful man he must be! A thick sense of infatuation pulsed through every limb. Would he come into the diner again soon? Well, if he did, she'd certainly have to find some way to control her clumsiness.

Grumpy moved past her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Beats the hell out of me how you can make a mess of a guy's lunch and get a tip like that."

She shrugged her shoulders in agreement.

He stopped and tilted his head sideways. "What's going on with you today, anyway?"

"I don't know, just...having a very weird day," Regina said. Try feeling lost and alone in a huge city? That I'm afraid this is as good as life gets-that the best if there ever was a best, is all behind me now? She watched as a gorgeous young woman passed by the window of the diner, she was well dressed and looked cool and sophiscated.

Regina put the tip into her pocket and started to clean up. She had left her small town and come to the big city seeking...a life. She hadn't wanted to be a poor farmer like her father. Or a poor father's wife, no matter how many times Daniel had asked her to marry him. She had loved Daniel, but that had been a high school romance, over ages ago in her heart, and dragging on for far too long in reality.

At twenty four, Regina had finally faced the truth. She wasn't getting any younger and so she had packed her bags and headed to the city, ready to attempt building a life of her own. She hadn't built much so far. Her job barely paid the bills. And she'd only made to real friends, Ruby and Mac- who, she realized as she checked her watch, would soon be waiting for her outside.

She thought of the woman who had just walked by, she was the woman that blue eyes would want. Why, what woman might be on her way to meet him right now. "Some silly waitress spilled tea all over me." he'd laughingly say when she would comment on his appearance. And then they'd go home to some plush penthouse apartment and make love all night long.

Regina sucked in her rbeath at the disturbing thought of Mr. Blue Eyes loving someone, anyone, who wasn't her. _What a ridiculoud way to feel! She didn't even know the man!_ But that didn't mean she didn't feel it. He was just so wonderful, so sweet, so perfect. Or at least he certainly seemed like he was all those things.

She looked around to make sure Grumpy was nowhere around, seeing the coast clear, she quickly made a sandwich, she then looked around for some side items, adding them in small styrofoam cups and topped them with plastic lids. The last item she grabbed was a fork. Then, balancing the small tower of food, she casually sauntered out the back door and into the grungy alley.

"Psst," she said. "Mac, where are you?"

A small man wearing dirty clothes ambled from behind the dumpster. He was old enough to be her grandfather. "Hi, Regina," he said, offering a small, almost toothless grin.

"Hey, Mac," she said, returning the smile.

"What smells so good?"

"Probably the beans," she said as he took the form from her fingers and lifted the sandwich from atop of the stack of food.

Regina watched as Mac wolfed down the sandwich in only a few bites. "Here," she said, offering him one of the styrofoam containers. "Eat the beans before they get cold."

He smiled his appreciation as he took the cup from her hand.

Regina had found Mac hiding behind the diner one afternoon shortly after she'd started working at Grumpy's, he'd been waiting for the garbage to be brought out. He'd been afraid of her at first, until he realized that she wasn't angry at him or repulsed by him, and that she wasn't going to report him to the police.

Each day when her shift ended, Regina met Mac at the dumpster. Knowing Mac got at least one decent meal five days a week helped her to sleep better at night.

"Although, I don't like you stealing," he had once said to her.

"Well, its not stealing, exactly," she replied back. "Grumpy just makes too much, that's all."

"Grumpy makes too much every day?"

"So he's a bad judge of volumn," she told him. "That's no reason for it to go to waste."

"So how was your day?" Mac asked.

Despite herself, Regina fairly beamed. She hadn't planned to tell Mac about Mr. Blue Eyes, but she couldn't contain herself. "I met a man today, Mac."

Mac smiled back at her. "Sounds promising."

"It's not," she said matter of factly, coming back down to earth. "I dumped a glass of tea on him. But he was really wonderful. And handsome. And perfect." Mac nodded. "Rich, too," she added. "At least I think he was. Just the type of man I'll never have."

"I don't see why not," Mac said, taking the last course of his meal from her hand. "A pretty girl like you."

She released a heavy sigh. "You're sweet, Mac, really. But this guy was way out of my league."

Mac grinned. "Gotta have hope, Regina. Good things will happen if you're patient and you believe."

"Believe in what?"

"Fate. Miracles."

Regina shook her head. Who believed in miracles anymore? "Come on, Mac, don't be silly. I'll never see him again."

Just then the back door of the diner burst open and Ruby came out running. "Sorry to interrupe dinner, Mac." she said, "but Regina, you're not going to believe this!" She waved a newspaper in her fist.

"What?"

Ruby shoved the paper into Regina's hands, then pointed directly at the man pictured before them. "Look who is it, Regina. Your Prince Charming."

Regina stared at the black and white picture on the front page of the business section as Ruby waited on her reaction. Oh for Han Solo's sake, it was Blue Eyes! She drew in her breath as her eyes became reacquainted with his masculine beauty. Even in newspaper print, his vibrant blue eyes demoted to gray, he was breathtaking!

The headline above the picture read. "Princess Cosmetics On the Move." Regina drew her gaze down to focus on the caption below the photo. "Robin Locksley, heir to the Princess Cosmetics throne, is solely responsible for the company's recent acquisitions. Locksley hopes that acquiring smaller companies will help Princess to corner the market in thie competitive industry."

"Robin Locksley," she whispered. A handsome name for a handsome man. Her eyes rose back to his black and white face. She sighed with longing.

"So?" Ruby said, beaming at her.

"So what?"

"So, your man practically own Princess Cosmetics! What do you think of that?"

"I can't afford them, so I've never used them."

"Not what do you think about the cosmetics, dummy." Ruby barked. "What do you think about _this?_ " She pointed again at the picture in the paper. "About who he is?"

"Well," Regina began, shoving the paper back toward her friend, "now I know exactly who I can't have." After all, any other view of this new knowledge would be totally impractical. If she'd thought he was in a different galaxy before, now the distance between them was utterly unfanthomable.

Ruby grinned. "Don't be so pessimistic."

Regina glanced up. It was obvious that Mac seconded Ruby's emotion, but she thought they were both crazy. "You guys," she said emphatically. "Wake up here. He's a business executive. I'm a waitress. He wears silk ties and Armani suits. I wear...this." She looked down at her pink uniform.

"So?" Ruby asked.

"So don't be ridiculous," Regina said, stomping her foot on the ground in frustration. "That man was my customer today. I'll probably never see him again. And if I do, I'll probably just spill something on him. So let's just all forget about it and get on with our lives."

Silence filled the dark alley as Regina's two friends recovered from her words. She was sorry she'd been gruff, but geez, it just wasn't healthy to go around fantasizing about things that were totally out of the realm of possibility. Was it?

"I'm just saying," Ruby finally imparted. "that if you had to spill something on a guy, you picked a really good guy to spill something on."

Mac stood behind Ruby, grinning knowingly, as Regina rolled her eyes. They were both being silly. She, on the other hand, was going to do something very mature, and then she was going to do something very mature, and then she was going to let this whole stupid matter drop.

She snatched the paper back from Ruby's hand. "I'm glad you found this, Ruby," she said, "because now I know where I can send him a new tie."

Regina stopped at the mall on the way home that day, she stopped in one store that had men's ties in it and was looking for one like the one she had destroyed. She had almost given up hope of ever finding it, when she finally spotted it almost hidden under another one. She flipped the tie's price tag-fifty eight dollars! Geez, she'd never have dreamed they even made ties that expensive! Could she really make herself spend that much money on a tie? Her stomach sank at the thought.

It was the right thing to do.

And the classy thing to do.

And she very much wanted to be classy. So she bought the tie.

Robin Locksley flipped off his computer and ran his hands back through his hair. His eyes ached. He was tired of looking at numbers that didn't seem to change no matter how he moved them around, no matter how hard he tried to make financial repairs to his family's business. Everytime he thought about the possibility of Princess Cosemetics demise, it felt as if an anchor weighed down his stomach.

It was useless to discuss it with his aging father, who had refused for years to see the problems and now spent more of the year vacationing in Arizona. Fixing the problems that had been allowed to fester for nearly a decade since his mother's death was a task that seemd to fall completely on Robin's shoulders.

Picking up his jacket and tossing it over his shoulder, Robin turned off the lamp on his desk and left his office. "Gone for the day," he told Miriam, his secretary and sometimes mother hen, as he passed by her desk.

"Get some sleep, Robin," she told him. "You're going to get bags under your eyes, and then the pretty girls won't give you a second look." Then she gave him the same wink she'd been giving him for twenty five years, only it didn't come with a lollipop anymore. Miriam had been his mother's secretary, too, and had been with the company since Robin was five years old.

He smiled at the familiar gesture, but responded, "Afraid pretty girls are the last thing on my mind these days, Miriam." Then he rushed for the elevator and stepped inside just as the door began to close.

Only Miriam and the board of directors were privy to the company's financial woes. The press saw their recent acquistions as bold steps for the future. They were actually desperate grabs at trying to save today. The sales just weren't there, and no one had been able to run this company since his mother, the late Evelyn Locksley.

Robin was walking toward his parking garage when he decided to take a short detour. He'd left in plenty of time to prepare for the evening ahead, so he had a few minutes to run an errand and pick up a new tie to replace the stained one he still wore. Once inside the store, Robin headed straight for the men's department, cornering the first saleslady he spotted. He held up his tie. "I bought this here last week and I spilled something on it today. Do you have anymore like it?"

The elderly saleswoman clasped her hands consolingly. "I'm sorry, but I just sold the last one to a young lady not five minutes ago."

Robin shrugged. As he'd told the waitress at lunch, it wasn't a big deal-he'd just thought he'd pop in and see if they had another one while it was on his mind. "Thanks, anyway."

As he pulled out into rush hour traffic a few minutes later, he thought again of his lunch today and of the cute waitress who had spilled an entire glass of tea on him. It had been impossible to be mad at her with those big, sultry eyes and that adorable pout on her lips. Then he remembered how she'd blushed when she'd realize she had been stroking not just his tie but had her hands near his groin area. He couldn't help smiling.

She had been a pretty little thing, her eyes had pulled him in and left him unable to speak for a few moments. What are you doing Locksley he asked himself. For all he knew she was married with a household of kids, probably had a husband she went home to every night who gave her foot massages, the very least a boyfriend who made love to her until she was relaxed for the evening. He tried to go back in his mind, to see if she had a wedding ring on her left hand. At best he could she didn't seem to have one, but he had been transfixed on her eyes. He made a mental note to himself, that when he had time again, to go back to that diner.

And this time find out about her martial status.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N-We both want to thank you all for the reviews!**_

Regina had just gotten to her apartment, and kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch. Tomorrow she would tape up a box and address it to Robin Locksley at Princess Cosmetics. Then she would take it to the post office and spend yet more money, on postage. She would not enclose a note, because she didn't want it to be viewed as a come on. And she didn't want to be an actually come on, which any note she wrote would certainly be. She just wanted to replace the man's tie and be done with it. Life was challenging enough without inviting the heartbreak that was sure to follow if she started chasing a guy who could never want her.

The phone rung and Regina groaned. She didn't want to answer it. She was too tired. And too comfortable in her spot on the couch. But she couldn't afford an answering machine, and always feared that if she didn't answer, it would turn to be something important like a family emergency or someone wanting to give her a million dollars. So she dragged her tired limbs up off the couch and over the cool concrete floor to the phone next to her bed. "Hello."

"Thank God you answered!"

Regina sighed. "This'd better be good, Ruby. I just got in the door and I'm beat."

"Well, get unbeat and put on your dancing shoes!"

Regina shook her head. What had gotten into Rubb? "I can't get unbeat, and I don't own any dancing shoes. What's going on?"

"You won't believe this."

"Well try me. And make it quick. There's a pot pie in the freezer calling my name."

"Forget your pot pit, girl. You're eating high on the hog tonight. I just snagged us two tickets to the biggest, fanciest bash in town."

"Ruby, what are you talking about?"

"I walked into hair school and my teacher gave me two tickets to this big charity thing tonight. She got them from her neighbor, who got them from her boss, and they supposedly cost a hundred bucks a piece."

"Would you slow down? What kind of charity thing?"

Some kind of a dinner dance. Expensive food and probably everyone who's ever been on the Tribune society page. Sound like a blast?"

Despite Ruby's enthusiasm, Regina didn't really think so. "Ruby," she complained, "I'm really tired, and I have nothing to wear, and besides, doesn't that sound like someplace where we'd be terribly out of place."

She could hear Ruby's tsk tsking on the other end of the phone. "How will you ever be a big, fancy businessman if you don't learn to fit in with people like this? And how could you possibly think of passing up a hundred dollar meal?"

Ruby was right, Regina supposed. At least about the first part. Being easily intimidated would get her nowhere in this world. And remembering how she'd crumbled today in front of Robin Locksley only affirmed that belief. "Still, Ruby, you know neither one of us has anything to wear to that kind of shindig."

Ruby merely chuckled-Regina should have known she'd be on top of the situation. "Get this," she said. "You know my friend, Ana who works at Marshall Fields? Well, she has the authority to lend out evening wear to people like us who are going to fancy high profile events."

"She does?" It sounded preposterous.

"Sure. They do it in Hollywood all the time. They think maybe someone will see you in it and want to know where you got it. It's like advertising. So what do you say?"

"I don't know," Regina hesitated. "Sounds weird, wearing dresses that aren't ours."

"Regina," Ruby reasoned, "this is the chance of a lifetime. I'll come over and fix your hair, conservatively, I promise. Then we'll go pick out dresses, put on makeup, and have the night of our lives. How often does a chance like this come along?"

Regina peered in the mirror in the back room of Marshall Fields' evening wear department. She couldn't believe what she saw. Her dark hair was swept up into a delicate French twist with thin wisps of loose hair curving toward her face. A strapless dress of ivory taffeta seemed molded to her body, stopping just above the knees. It was difficult to believe that only a few hours ago she'd been slinging hash at the Diner.

She couldn't help casting a small smile at her own reflection. It was hard to comprehend how sophisticated she suddenly appeared. She'd purposely chosen the ivory dress in hopes of looking a little bit sexy and completely classy. Her stomach swam with butterflies at knowing she'd accomplished both.

Later Regina balanced nervously on her borrowed high heels as she scaled the plush winding staircase that led to the second floor banquet room. All around her, high society buzzed. Men in tuxedos escorted woman wearing glittery dresses, and women's ears and necks seemed to drip with diamonds. Crisply uniformed waiters circulated with silver trays containing hors d'oeuvres and glasses of wine. What on earth was she doing here? Despite having convinced herself that it might be a good chance to meet important people, she began to regret her decision to come.

"We don't fit in here, Ruby," she leaned over to whisper as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Of course we don't," Ruby replied. "But we look like we do, and that's the important thing. The rest can be faked."

"I'm no good at faking," Regina complained.

Ruby shot her a look of disdain, and she knew it was too late to back out now, no matter hos much she wanted to.

"Look," Ruby said, pointing. "That should inspire you." Regina followed Ruby's finger to a sign that stood near the polished wooden doors of the banquet hall. It read Third Annual Dinner to Aid the Homeless.

She sighed. Ruby was right. Seeing the reason for the event helped ease Regina's worries. It took her mind away from her own small problems and helped her focus on the bigger picture. She thought of Mac, so patiently waiting for something good to happen in his life, and decided that maybe those hopes weren't all in vain, maybe others cared, others with enough money to make a difference.

Dinner consisted of prime rib, baked potatoes, and a variety of side dishes Regina didn't recognize. She had heard that the tastes of the well to do sometimes didn't mesh with average people like herself, but to her pleasant surprise she found the entire meal delicious, right down to the rich chocolate truffle served with dessert.

Being seated at a table with eight strangers, all of whom were senior citizens of the wealthiest variety, made Regina even more dangerous, but thanks to Ruby's quick thinking all went well. When asked, Ruby had simply explained that they were visiting from out of town and were here on business. As if on cue, the salad had arrived, squelching further conversation for the moment.

"Scrumptious," one of the older ladies remarked, laying down her spoon after the last bite of truffle.

Regina agreed with a smile. Fitting in with these people wasn't so difficult, after all.

"What company did you ladies say you were doing business with?" the woman's husband inquired. Uh oh, looked like things were suddenly resurfacing. Regina tried to keep her eyes from going wide as she kicked Ruby under the table.

"Princess," Ruby replied easily. "Princess Cosmetics."

Princess? Of all the companies in the world, Ruby had chosen to say they were with Princess? Regina involuntarily sucked in her breath and began to choke.

Ruby casually handed her a water glass and made an obvious attempt to twist the conversation away from the company. But it quickly went back to Princess.

"How come you're not sitting at one of the Princess tables?" another gentleman asked.

"One of the what?" Regina asked, trying very hard to keep her voice light.

"The Princess Cosmetics tables, of course," he replied, pointing toward the front of the room.

Regina's head shot around and her gaze landed directing on the smiling face of Robin Locksley himself!

Regina sucked in her breath involuntarily, hyperventilation was near. She couldn't believe this! He was here! Her heart fluttered and her stomach churned as she studied him, a beautiful man amidst other beautiful people. He fit in this setting. She didn't. It was that simple. She had the urge to run and wished that she could, but such a reaction would only make the situation worse.

"Oh, I believe the seats were already taken," Ruby coolly answered of the Princess tables. "And besides," she winked with a secretive smile, "I think the company is better over here."

To Regina's unparalled relief, Ruby's ploy worked. The rich old people chuckled at her flattery and the subject took a turn toward the stock market. The pop of a microphone quieted the gentle murmurs of conversation that blanketed the room, and all eyes shifted toward the podium, near Robin Locksley's table. Instead of watching the speaker, though, Regina let her gaze fall on Robin Locksley's handsome profile. For Han Solo's sake, he was a gorgeous man!

She heard the speaker thanking people for coordinating the event as she wondered if it was only hours ago that she had looked into his eyes, smelled his masculine scent, and actually touched his chest through the clothes he wore. It seemed like eons had elapsed since then, each passing second making her want him more even as their words seemed to grow father and father apart.

Some of the couples at their table started to leave, leaving Regina with Ruby. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

Ruby's eyes pleaded innocence. "Knew about what?"

"That he would be here," Regina's stomach fluttered again as the reality of his presence hit her full steam.

Ruby looked at her cautiously. "Okay, I might have had an inkling. But you would have too, if you'd bothered to read the entire article. It said he was quite a philanthropist and was expected to be in attendance here tonight."

"This whole thing is ridiculous," she said. "And I'm going home." She stood and grabbed her purse before stalking from the table.

"Hole it," Ruby said, close on her heels.

Regina whirled to face her friend. "Why?"

Ruby spoke in a knowing voice. "You're only leaving because you're afraid of him."

Regina glanced down at herself, masquerading as something, someone, she was not. Someone she could probably never be. Why bother denying the truth in Ruby's words. "Fine," she said. "I'm afraid of him. So what?"

"Are you crazy Regina? This is your big chance with him! It's like fate or something. How can you pass that up?"

"I think you're the crazy one, Ruby. I mean what would a guy like that want with me?" Regina asked.

She watched a small, devilish smile slowly grow on her friend's face. "I don't know," Ruby said. "but I think you're about to find out."

"What?"

"Don't look now, but he's coming this way."

Regina's stomach went hollow, and her knees grew weak. A million thoughts raced through her mind. He probably wasn't really coming this way, not toward her. But before she could even think, he was standing before her, looking handsome and sincere and perfect, and instead of saying either of the things she had imagined, he simply said," Excuse me. May I have this dance?"

Regina pulled in her breath and realized that she had lost the ability to speak. _This couldn't be happening. It simply didn't make sense._ She gazed up into what were still the bluest eyes she'd ever seem. They sparkled beneath the room's dimmed lighting and made her feel dizzy. This was happening. To her, Regina Mills, waitress. Robin Locksley had just asked her to dance.

Only then did she realize that the tempo of the music had changed and the first strains of Firehouse's 'When I look into your eyes' wafted through the air around them. Her entire body began to tingle.

Robin smiled at the woman before him, only moments ago he had been at his table, listening to the endless chatter, when something compelled him to turn his head to his left. There stood a beautiful woman, she was talking with another woman and had turned her body back to speak with her. Robin felt something stirring inside him and knew he had to go speak to her before she left.

Ruby nudged her ankle as she continued to stare up into Robin Locksley's piercing blue eyes. But she still had no luck finding words. So she simply held up her hand, offering it to him, and he smiled at her silent acceptance. He led her to the dance floor as she cast a helpless look over her shoulder at Ruby, who grinned like a cheshire cat.

She still didn't think this could be happening. But if this was a dream, it was a wonderful one. And for the first time since it had started, Regina didn't want to run away anymore. Robin Locksley was sliding his arms gently around her waist, she was lifting her hands tentatively to his strong shoulders, and she was becoming lost in his arms.

She bit her lip nervously before summoning the courage to look up at him again. When she lifted her eyes to his, she experienced a flashback to earlier that day, when she'd touched his tie. She wondered futilely if he was remembering it too.

To her surprise, the smile he bestowed on her was clearly not the sympathetic gesture cast toward a bumbling waitress. "Thank you for dancing with me," he said galantly.

Regina only nodded, her heart in her throat.

He peered down at her, his expression turning endearing sheepish as the music surrounded them. "I hope I didn't seem too forward."

"No," Regina blurted, finally locating her voice. "I mean, not at all."

"I just saw you standing there, looking like a vision in that dress, and I guess impulse grabbed me. I had a lousy day at the office, and I suppose I just want to dance with a beautiful woman."

Regina inhaled deeply, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart. Vision? Beautiful woman? Maybe this reality was just a dream. Did flesh and blood actually say things like that? She didn't know how to react. Luckily she didn't have to. He continued.

"But I don't want to bore you with my problems. Instead, maybe I should introduce myself. I'm Robin Locksley, at your service." He smiled. "And you are?"

 _Dumbstruck with lust_ , she thought.

He didn't recognize her! Thank you! His eyes had been gorgeous and full of understanding in the diner when she'd been ruining his lunch, but they were so much deeper, warmer, now as they gazed at the new her. The her who had been a vision, a beautiful woman. Just for this night, she decided, she would be someone else. "Regina," she finally replied. "Regina Lucas."

He smiled. "Pretty name, Regina."

She blushed, thinking how surprised he'd be to know she'd just made up her last name.

"Great song," he said then, as Roberta Flack's 'The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face' was playing now.

"Yes," she replied, smiling up at him. "It is."

A spine tingling moment of awkward silence filled the air until Robin grinned down at her. "I guess this is where we make small talk, Regina. So tell me, what do you do?"

Wait on tables, socialize with the homeless, attack businessmen with glasses of sweet tea. "Well," she began, swallowing heavily, "I'm between positions right now. But I'm interested in business administration."

He nodded, and Regina wondered if her answer was okay.

"Where did you go to school?" he asked.

She began to answer Hargrove High, but suddenly it didn't sound right. "Har...vard," she said instead, mentally kicking herself as the disjointed word left her mouth.

Robin Locksley raised his eyebrows. "Harvard Business School eh? Impressive."

"So where are you from, Regina?"

"Atlanta," she confidently replied. She heard good things about Atlanta. "Are you a large supporter of the homeless?"

Robin's eyes turned sympathetic. "Yes. My company makes regular donations to some of the shelters in the city."

Regina nodded.

"You?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Although I suppose my contributions may be a little smaller."

"Oh?"

"Well, I help out at the Sunshine House every weekend."

Robin's eyes grew wide in admiration. "That's not a small thing, Regina at all. I think its very honorable."

"I don't do much," she admitted. "Serve meals and help clean up a little."

As the last notes of the love song faded into silence, Regina felt Robin loosen his strong hold on her. She was flooded with an instant disappointment that the song, the moment, his embrace, had all ended so suddenly. She gazed up at him, wondering if he could see the simple longing in her eyes, wondering if he could see the simple country girl hiding behind the expensive clothes and elegant hairstyle.

"Thank you for the dance, Regina," he said. The deep timbre of his voice curled her toes, and assured her that her secret was safe.

"It was my pleasure," she whispered.

"Maybe we could...get together later. For another dance."

She nodded, hoping she didn't appear too eager. Then she watched him back away from her through the crowd and heard him say, "Maybe this day wasn't so rotten after all."

Regina came back to where Ruby was and filled her in on everything. She was on top of the world as they talked. Ruby and Regina went out on the dance floor and danced to the tunes of Y.M.C.A along with many others. A little before midnight, Regina was by herself wondering where Ruby had gotten off to. She was dreading the cab ride home, knowing that the fairy tale would end.

"There you are," Regina felt Robin's warm grasp on her arm and turned to face him.

'Where'd you do?" she finally asked, grinning shyly. "I thought I'd been abandoned."

"Never."

Then she heard the first strains of a familiar tune, one she'd heard earlier tonight. "I had to go request a song." he whispered near her ear. He planted a soft kiss high on her cheek before pulling back to look at her. 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' filled the air again, and Regina's heart shuddered.

She felt her body melting into his, liquefying in his grasp, and then she felt her mouth involuntarily lifting, reaching, until she found his lips.

Oh Han Solo, this wasn't supposed to happen. But it was. And it was more incredible than she ever could have imagined. His kiss, which started light and gentle, soon became warmer and deeper as his tongue pushed its way between her lips. Rainbow lights swirled around them, and Regina had the sensation of floating on air.

Dizziness gripped her as the kiss finally ended.

"When can I see you again?" he asked, his voice low and bitten with passion.

"Um,um..."

He laughed softly. "I hope that means soon."

She smiled and nodded, then let Robin pull her back into his arms as the romantic song played on. Pressing against him, her arms locked around his neck, his clasped at her waist, she felt safe, and complete. And in love.

How had this happened? She asked herself. She could only chalk it up to one thing-fate. She'd heard the word more than once today. From Mac. From Ruby. She'd thought it was ridiculous. But now it was the only explanation that made any sense.

As the song ended and people started to leave, Robin still didn't let go of her. Just when Regina thought he might hold onto her forever he finally released his grip, and again she experienced the painful separation of their bodies. Knowing that the night had come to an end made it extra hard for her to let go.

"Guess this is it," he said somberly, gazing down at her.

"Guess so," she said.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out his cellphone. "Will you give me your number?"

Nervously, Regina relayed her phone number to him.

"Is this your daytime or nighttime number?"

"Nighttime," she replied.

"I might want to catch you during the day," he said.

"My daytime schedule is kind of hectic," she replied. She hated having to lie to this wonderful man.

"Even while you're between jobs?"

"I'm...uh...interviewing," she said. "A lot."

He nodded knowingly. "I forgot I was dealing with an ambitious woman. So there's no way to reach you during the day?"

"I'll call you," she suggested.

Robin reached into his jacket again, and this time pulled out a business card. "Don't be shy about using this," he said, placing it in her hand.

She smiled up at him as the lights lifted and the evening came to a close. "It's been a wonderful night," she whispered.

He leaned in to kiss her forehead, smiled his agreement, then turned to go.

Regina couldn't believe it! It was too good to be true. The night was ending, but the fantasy wasn't. She quickly found Ruby and they hurriedly hailed a cab and headed home for the night.

Robin arrived at his apartment, he tossed his cellphone and keys onto the table and went to pour himself a drink. He took off his jacket and loosened his shirt, he took his drink over to the big window in the living room and looked out into the night. The city was still ablaze with many lights, he smiled as he thought of his evening.

His evening with one certain beautiful vision.

 _Regina_.


End file.
